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With Reuben
Goossens

Maritime
Historian

,
Cruise‘n’Ship Reviewer & Author

Please Note: All ssmaritime and my other related ssmaritime sites are 100%
non-commercial and privately owned sites. Be assured that I am NOT associated
with any cruise or shipping companies or travel/cruise agencies or any other
organisations! The author has been in the passenger shipping industry since May
1960 and is now semi-retired, but continues to write article on classic liners
and cruise ships in order to better to inform cruise and ship enthusiasts for
their pleasure!

Page One

From
Birth to Breakers

SS Oriana had one of the
most recognised funnels in maritime history!

Introduction

This twelve page feature will
cover the remarkable history if SS Oriana, a great liner, popular cruise ship
and in her final days a tourist attraction. These pages also include various
experiences provided to me by past crew member and it makes for interesting
reading. In addition this feature is packed with photographs for to reminisce
of the days you may have spent on her or stood quayside admiring her.

Although this page covers Oriana from her
conception in 1954 to being broken up, I have a separate three page feature
entirely related to her design, building, launching, fitting out, sea trials and
maiden voyage. The link to this feature can be found at the bottom of this page
along with all the others.

In 1954 Orient Line began planning to
build a new liner, a ship that would be the grandest and largest Orient liner
ever to be built, however, it was not until 1956 that
Orient Lines made the final decision to build a new ship for the Australian
trade. With the added costs of fuel consumption, as well as maintenance of
their older ships, it was decided that a larger, fast, more efficient liner would
provide a profitable and a superior facilities. After two years of careful
planning, Oriana’s the keel was laid on
September 18 1957. This, the largest ship built for Orient Lines, would soon
join their already sizable fleet. However, unknown at this stage, Oriana would
be the last great liner to be built for Orient Lines.

Since the Orion, built in 1935,
each Orient Line ship’s name commenced with the letter ‘O. As
Orient Lines searched for a new name, an Australian P&O employee jokingly
suggested naming the new ship ‘Orstralia.’
Thankfully, a unique name was decided on, one that was given to Queen Elizabeth
I, by the poets of her era - Oriana.

Orient Line
ships all had their own distinctive emblem, and now a suitable emblem was
needed for Oriana the new super liner.

Mr. Milner Grey created an exciting new emblem for the Oriana, in
the form of an ‘O’ topped with a crown made of pearls, and
containing a double ‘E’ inside the ‘O’ representing
Queen Elizabeth I, and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

The contract to build the Oriana was awarded
to Vickers Armstrong Ltd of Barrow-in-Furness.
Construction work commenced 18 September 1956. Slowly the unique design of the
Oriana became obvious, new, but she retained design similarities of other
Orient Lines ships, such as the Orcades, Oronsay, and the newer Orsova.
Location of her lifeboats was the most obvious modification. Oriana was the
largest ship to built at the Barrow yard and as we know, it would also be the
last ship they constructed for the Orient Steam Navigation Company.

SS Orsova is the proud
predecessor to the SS Oriana

The contract for the £14 million Oriana was placed
on May 12, 1954, but work on her did not commence until September 18, 1957. The
official hull laying plate was numbered, 1061, which many jokingly claimed was
her “Maiden Name.” Oriana was launched on Tuesday November 3 1959,
by Princess Alexandra, after which the Oriana proceeded to her fitting out dock
in Buccleuth and to complete her aluminium
superstructure and interiors.

The next twelve months saw her turn into a fine ultra modern
passenger liner ready for service. Located forward atop the Crows Nest, there a
short radar mast, it is well known that the Orient Line usually did not have a
conventional mast on their liners. Oriana had the usual high, but more
streamlined, central funnel, However, aft there was a strange new feature a
small dummy funnel.

A perfect view of her unusual upper superstructure

and funnel configuration

At 41,915 tonnes the Oriana was the largest
passenger liner to be placed on the Australia
/ New Zealand
service. Her dimensions being, 245.1m long, in 30.5m wide, having 730 cabins,
17 public rooms, and 11 passenger decks. She was able to carry 2000 passengers,
in two classes, having a crew of around 980.

During her sea trials carried out
on the Clyde, between 13 and 16 November 1960,
she achieved a maximum speed of 30.64 knots, and this was in woeful weather
conditions. With two sets of Pametrada
double-reduction geared steam turbines, which generated 80,000 horsepower, were
geared to twin screws, giving a cruising speed of 27.5 knots.

SS
Oriana seen during her sea trials

Oriana departed on her maiden voyage from
Southampton, Sydney bound on December 3, 1960,
returning to Southampton via New Zealand
and the US.
She became known as the fastest liner on the UK
- Australia service, as she
was able to sail from Southampton to Sydney via
the Suez Canal in just 21 days.

P&O Postcard of the Oriana in
her original livery

As can be seen above, Oriana retained that
distinctive (yet modern) Orient Lines profile, for which the company was
renowned for, being leaders in overall ship design.

Oriana
arrived in Sydney
December 30, 1960, for her very first call

and she would be
a regular until her final departure in 1986

Mid 1961, Oriana was joined by the P&O Peninsular’s new 45,733 GRT ssCanberra, which
became the largest liner to be placed on the Australian service. Rapidly, *Canberra became the ship
that received most publicity. Undoubtedly Canberra
was an imposing sight, being all white ship, with long sleek lines, and the
author enjoyed his voyages on her a number of times. However, Oriana soon
gained a vast following, with past passengers returning to sail on her many
times - ‘Take a ship, back to the home country’ was the popular
statement in the early days. Oriana was the choice of many a seasoned
traveller! * Read the authors –
“Canberra Cruise Review.”

Oriana finally complete and ready
to head for New Zealand
& Australia

Oriana the Liner

In 1966, the name of Orient Line disappeared,
when together with P&O Peninsular, it simply became the P&O Line.
Oriana sailed around the world for almost fourteen years. In the late sixties,
the round the world service started to become unprofitable with a decline of
passengers, being mainly due to flights to London,
or Europe now offered discounted fares.
P&O had to make a decision on how to handle the situation.

Oriana the Cruise Ship

After serving as a part
time cruise ship, in 1973 P&O announced that the Oriana would become a full
time cruise ship. At first, she remained a two-class ship, however, in 1974,
the class barrier was dropped, and Oriana, like other P&O ships, became a
one-class ship. A number of onboard changes were made with the removal on the
Silver Grill on A deck, which was replaced with additional cabins, as well as
name changes for some lounges. As a cruise ship, both the Oriana and Canberra were a
remarkable success story. On November 12, 1981, Oriana left Southampton for the
final time, heading for Sydney,
were she commenced a full time cruise programme. She became the toast of
Australian cruise lovers, and proved to be a great success for P&O! She
cruised the South Pacific, as well as an occasional Asian itinerary. Over all,
Oriana enjoyed an eighty per cent occupancy rate. Her success had other
shipping companies enter the market, placing their ships on full and part time
cruise duties from Australia.
There were Russian, Italian, Greek even a Chinese company who based their ships
in the Southern Hemisphere, all vying for that ever increasing cruise dollar.
Sitmar, P&O and CTC cruise Companies were the most successful cruise
operators. After successfully cruising out of Australia, came a shock
announcement on 22 July, 1985. P&O announced that the Oriana might be
withdraw from service. The reason obviously being, the competition from Russian
and other cruise companies, all offered heavily discounted fares, effecting
P&O’s profits. One of these being Sitmar Cruises, operating the
popular Fairstar, had become a major player in the Australian cruise market.
Then on August 7, it became official; Oriana would conclude her cruise duties
on March 27 1986. At the time, no decision had been made regarding her future.

Oriana departed Sydney on March 14, 1986 for her final
cruise, packed with enthusiasts, who had cruised on her many times. Oriana
returned to Sydney on March 27, sailing
majestically through Sydney Heads, up the harbour, under SydneyHarbourBridge, and slowly docked at the Pyrmont Passenger Terminal. The ships master for the final
cruise was Captain Philip Jackson. ss Oriana had by
now sailed some 3,430,900 nautical miles, and achieved a record speed 29.21
knots.

It had been announced that Oriana would be
replaced by the 20,000 GRT Island Princess. She would cruise from Australian
ports six months of the year.

In 1988, P&O Princess Cruises purchased
Sitmar Cruises and decided to use the popular Fairstar as their permanent
Australian based cruise ship.

Oriana at anchor during a Pacific
cruise

The next day after
her return from her final cruise, 28 March, Oriana was moved to Pyrmont wharf 21, were she remained laid up for two months.
On May 7, it was announced that Oriana had been sold to Japanese interests for
the use as a floating hotel, museum, and restaurants.

Her final departure from Sydney
was hampered by strikes, but she finally departed Sydney on the afternoon of May 29 1986. Her
departure from Sydney
became a sombre event, as thousands of past passengers, and those that had come
to know her distinctive profile whilst in port, looked on with great sadness.
The tug Lady Lorraine
sailed ahead of her, spouting her fire hoses, as many small vessels accompanied
this great ex Orient Line Passengers Liner to Sydney Heads. The great lady of
the sea looked a sad sight, as decks were devoid of any passengers, with no
sign of life to be seen anywhere except on the bridge. Rather than sailing by
her own, four tugs moved her to Sydney Heads, she them went underway by her own
steam. Oriana arrived in Osaka
three weeks later.

Still looking
grand, the Oriana says goodbye to Australia

She arrived in Japan at 3.00 pm on Tuesday June 24
1986. She docked at the Hitaci Zosen Ship Repair
Works at Sakai in Osaka. After renovations, she was towed to BeppuBay. Oriana may have remained afloat,
but became a sad sight, especially as the Japanese owners painted her funnels
pink. The hotel venture generally failed and in 1995, the Oriana was sold, this
time to Chinese interests. She was towed to Chinwangtao, China,
where she became an accommodation ship for the Chinese Government, including a
tourist hotel. Oriana was sold again in November 1998. She was purchased for
around $6 million by Qinhuangdao in North China’s
HebeiProvince. Undertow, she arrived in Shanghai October 1998.
She was fully refitted in ZingHuaHarbour as a floating tourist attraction, which was
funded by the “Hangzhou West Lake International Tourism Culture
Development Co Ltd,” who spent some US$3.5 million in renovations. In
February 1999, after a massive refit Oriana was relocated to the Pudong district of Shanghai.

Oriana seen as a floating tourist attraction

moored
in Shanghai

She was attached to her moorings, as can be seen in
this photograph

Holding a 85% stake in the ship (15% was held
by Hangzhou Jiebai Group Co Ltd), Hangzhou West Lake
International Tourism Culture Development Co Ltd announced on August 15 2000,
that they would auction its holdings in the Oriana. Even though Oriana had more
than 500,000 visitors, she did not make the anticipated profits. Finally, the
auction took place on September 28, 2000.

Night view of the Oriana still seen in Shanghai

She was towed to the Chinese port of Dalian,
arriving there on June 30, 2002. Observers noted that she looked better than
she had for a long time, being freshly painted and bedecked with flags. She
looked more like the Oriana we all know. The event was covered on television,
and she became the talking point in Dalian.
She underwent yet another refit before being opened to the public in her new
role at this popular resort.

On June 16, 2004,
SS oriana was struck by a vicious storm in which she
was badly damaged. She took on a great deal of water due to her being holed at
bow that saw her lower decks flooded, and soon she listed to port. Attempts
were made to right her and the owners even considered restoring her, however
the cost proved to be too great. On May 13, 2005 SS Oriana departed Dalian and was towed to Wayou
scrap yard in Zhangiagang China
where she was broken up.

Please Note:
ssmaritime and associated sites are 100% non-commercial and the author seeks no funding or favours of any shape or form, never have
and never will!

Photographs on ssmaritime and associate
pages are by the author or from the author’s private
collection. In addition there are some images that have been provided by
Shipping Companies and private photographers or collectors. Credit is given to
all contributors. However, there are some photographs provided to me without
details regarding the photographer/owner concerned. I hereby invite if owners
of these images would be so kind to make them-selves known to me (my email
address may be found on www.ssmaritime.com only), in order that due credit may be
given.

This notice covers all pages,
although, and I have done my best to ensure that all photographs are duly
credited and that this notice is displaced on each page, that is, when a page
is updated!